Better Left Forgotten
by suckywriting
Summary: After winning the final war, all seems well. That is until Percy falls into a coma, and wakes up again only to have lost all his memories of being a demigod. Annabeth is heartbroken, but is determined to help Percy remember his memories and their love again. But what if it's better to let Percy forget...?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Alright then, I thought I'd give it a shot at creating a multi-chapter story. I'm just kinda going with the flow right now, with a pretty vague outline. I can't determine how long it'll be just yet, but stay with me here. I'm just testing things out for now, because I never wrote a multi-chapter story except some really short ones. Hope you can like this!

note: For some reason I can't write Mr Brunner's name with a period, so I just left it blank.

/

_The monster was gone. _

_Percy was dead tired, but he couldn't stop here. Grover was still moaning and passed out nearby. His mother… _

_Percy hauled Grover up and staggered down the valley, slowly making his way to the lights of the farmhouse. Percy's body was screaming with pain, and all he wanted to do was to lie down and cry until everything bad just went away. But Grover needed him, so Percy couldn't stop here. Not yet._

_Before Percy knew it, his knees gave in as he approached a wooden porch. Everything was fuzzy, moths flying around a yellow light, and faces. A girl with beautiful curled hair that matched the glowing light, and a familiar-looking man. They both looked down at him, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."_

"_Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."_

xxx

Percy's eyes opened, very slowly, but he didn't move. Or rather, he couldn't move. Percy felt like his body would creak and shatter if he so much moved a finger, and his tongue felt like a limp beanbag. His throat felt dry and scratchy, that saying anything would feel like fire down his throat. Strangely, he felt like he knew what that felt like. He was laying in a bed, with his back propped up.

He moved his eyeballs, blinking so he can get a sense of the world a little better. He was in a room. Well, a room with a few cots in it, with potted plants in a corner here and there. Photos hung on the wall, with kids in orange t-shirts in them.

He looked down, and realized there was a person. A girl. She was gripping his hand, and it felt warm. Her head was resting on the edge of the bed, her hair in a messy curtain around her head. He recognized her blonde curls, he…

He remembered. Two faces were looking down at him, at a porch after he dragged Grover in. This girl were one of them.

Percy was suddenly curious. He tried to move his hand. Percy winced, and his hand felt like wood when he moved slightly.

The girl flinched, but kept her head down. Percy tried again, with his other hand this time. He felt his arm crack in about a million different places, but he eventually moved his hand to caress her head. Her hair was surprisingly silky, even when it looked so wild creating a halo of golden curls around her head on his bed. The girl suddenly froze under his touch.

Abruptly, she got up, and met his eyes. They were a stormy type of gray, with intelligence gleaming behind them. She seemed to be thinking a million different things, all racing with incredible speed through her brain. She seemed older too, like maybe seventeen or eighteen. Having a pretty girl like her staring at a little runt like _Percy_ was nerve-wracking.

Percy wanted to say something, wanted _her_ to say something to explain to him what had happened-

The girl suddenly attacked him with a fierce bear hug, and Percy dryly wheezed due to her crushing force. She immediately pulled back, and Percy tears gleaming in her eyes.

"You still drool when you sleep, moron." the girl said softly. Percy's face grew warm. Not only did this pretty older girl stay next to him while he was passed out, she had to see him when he was drooling like a five year old. Perfect.

"Percy? Can you speak? Are you okay?" the blonde's eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

Percy's throat still felt incredibly dry, so he nodded. The girl took his hand, and Percy jolted in surprise.

"Here, drink some," the girl offered. She got a cup filled with a liquid and held it to his lips. Percy still felt flustered at all this attention, but he didn't have much strength at the moment. As he drank the strange drink, he felt adrenaline surge through his veins. He felt much better than before, but he still felt pretty weak from sleeping for who knows how long.

"Percy. Say something, will you? Can you?" the girl tried again.

"Yeah… Sorry." Percy spoke, and it felt like he was listening to another voice. Maybe it was because he had been out for so long, but his voice felt a lot deeper than usual. "Where...am I?"

"Idiot, we're in the Big House." the girl said. The Big House?

"What? Wait, what kind of big hou-"

"Perrrrcy!" he suddenly heard a familiar voice, and he looked away from the girl and saw Grover, his best friend. Grover was crying again, and he hurried to Percy's bedside.

"Stop crying, you're not a baby." Percy weakly laughed. Grover wiped his eyes and attempted to laugh. He looked different, somehow. Older. How long has Percy been out?

"Chiron! Percy's awake!" Grover called out.

And then walked into the room. Except it wasn't him. It couldn't be. Percy gawked at the man that should have been his teacher, but wasn't. "Mr… Brunner?" he cautiously said.

That response caused quite a reaction from all of the three people who were there. Or Percy thought they were people.

Mr Brunner's torso and up was normal, it was when he looked down things got weird. The body of a white stallion was where his legs were supposed to be. His head almost touched the roof because of this added height. He heard stories about these, they were… _centaurs_. "Percy? Boy, are you feeling alright? Do you remember me?" Mr Brunner said.

Percy squeezed his eyes shut, maybe it would help. "Sorry, . I don't know, I think I'm hallucinating. I… I'm seeing things."

"What exactly are you seeing?" Grover asked. The girl was quiet for a while now.

"Just… It seems like I'm imagining that Mr Brunner is a ...centaur, I guess. I know, I'm going crazy, it's because I just woke up." Percy tried for a laugh, but everyone looked dead serious.

"Percy, what is that last thing you remember?" Grover asked urgently.

Percy tried to rack his brain to remember. "Uh, well…" He remembered the dark stormy night, and grimaced. "You were there, Grover. We fought with… a monster, or something, and then…" he remembered his mom, and felt like breaking down. "My mom… Is she here? What happened? I'm not going crazy! I'm not imagining things, she disappeared in a golden light!"

Mr Brunner didn't say anything for a moment. "No, I'm afraid she's not here." Percy was about to feel his heart shatter, but continued. "She's waiting in Manhattan for her son to wake up."

"Oh.. Oh, thank God." Percy sighed. "But wait… Something doesn't add up. What happened that time before I passed out? Grover was there, my mom disappeared. How is she fine? How long was I sleeping?"

"Percy…" Grover said with a sad look in his eyes. The girl gazed at Percy with an empty look in her eyes.

"Why? Have I been sleeping for a really long time? How much of my life did I miss?" Percy worried. What if he missed his entire teenhood and grown up into a scrawny man? His mom… How long had she been waiting for him? How long had she been forced to be alone with _Gabe?_ They wrecked his Camaro. It physically hurt Percy to think about what could have happened afterwards. No...

"About a month." Mr Brunner answered. Okay. Not too much. But his mom was still back there, she still had to go back to Gabe-

"But that's not important, Percy. She's fine." Percy heard Mr,Brunner add.

"No, Mr Brunner, you don't understand, my stepfather will-"

"Percy. Look at me." said. This whole time, Percy had been avoiding looking at him because he believed he was still making things up. Percy had to be going crazy. Slowly, he looked back at Mr Brunner, and sure enough, his horse legs were still there.

"Okay… Mr Brunner, the legs are not going away. They should've by now… What's going on?" Percy tried not to freak out. For some reason, it wasn't that hard. He felt that this wasn't that out of the ordinary. But that didn't mean he was still semi-freaking out.

"Percy, I am a centaur." Mr Brunner said sadly.

"What?" Percy really didn't know how to go on from there. He looked around, waiting for some to crack the practical joke they were playing on him. Nothing happened.

"And… I'm not Mr Brunner, my boy. You know this. I'm Chiron." Mr Brunner added.

Percy felt confused. "What? How are you not- you look just like him!" So Percy could accept the fact his Latin's teacher look-alike had freaking horse legs, but he couldn't understand why this centaur looked like his teacher? Alright.

Grover started crying again. "Perrcy…" Grover laid his head in Percy's lap, and Percy noticed something. In his curly head of hair, Percy reached over to feel horns that popped out of it.

Grover looked up, and Percy stared at him. "You… have horns?"

"I'm dreaming. Okay. I'm done now, I'll go back to my blank dreamless state. Goodbye." Percy started leaning down and close his eyes, but Grover caught his arm.

Grover stood up without saying anything, and Percy's eyes caught on… his donkey legs. Wait, he remembered this. They were goat legs. So Percy wasn't hallucinating that night.

"I'm a satyr. Remember?" Grover shakily said.

"Uh…" Percy's mind was muddled, not able to process what was happening. "Okay… wait. Satyrs and centaurs… It's like a Greek myth."

Mr Bru- Chiron nodded gravely. "Percy, this might be news to you, but I'm afraid it isn't. The Greek gods and all those myths exist, and you know it."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"You seemed to have lost your memory." Chiron said.

Percy paused. He lost his memory? How much? How old was he? Percy gazed around the room, and saw a mirror a little distance away.

"How much do I not remember?" Percy murmured. He was staring into the eyes of an older boy, probably seventeen. This boy had messy black hair much like his, but was tanner than him. There were muscles on his arms even if they probably went soft after being in a coma, and his jawline was defined, unlike Percy's pale skinny arms and baby fat on his cheeks. But...this boy was him.

"You… From what I can tell, your memory is reverted back to when you were twelve, right before you came here." Grover explained.

"Where is… here?" Percy asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," his head turned to the girl, who spoke for the first time in a long time. "A safe place for half-god, half-humans, like you and me. Demigods." Her gray eyes were so dark they almost looked black. Percy recalled his mother mentioning something about a camp. Somewhere she didn't want to let him go to.

"And…" Percy felt somehow rude to ask this question. "Who are you?"

The silent became heavy and unbearable. Grover and Chiron exchanged looks, and Percy was afraid.

Tears traced the beautiful blonde girl's cheeks, and she said, "It's me. Annabeth, your… best friend."

_Annabeth. Annabeth. Annabeth._ It rang in his head, but it didn't ring a single bell. He had no idea who this was.

So why did Percy suddenly feel like crying?

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for the kind reviews you left on the first chapter! It made me excited to go ahead and write the next chapter, you guys make me so happy:) If you didn't already know, I do have another oneshot collection I work on for a type of exercise, so I might alternatively update, or whatever I feel. Anyways, enjoy the second chapter!

/

Just when Annabeth thought all the horrible things that had happened would finally be over when Percy woke up, another dark shadow swallowed her up and left her hopeless. She felt tears on her face, but she didn't have the will to bring it up and wipe it away. She wanted Percy to hug her and wipe them away for her, to cradle her and make up for the time he was asleep. She remembered that she was to have pride in herself, that she shouldn't be so dependent on her boyfriend. But she learned the hard and long way that she could only depend on her friends and on Percy, because that's how they overcome the evil that blocked their path. And Percy was taken away from her once again, the scars on her heart she thought would fade away was ripped open and left to bleed.

"I'm… sorry. You're my best friend, and I don't even remember you…" Annabeth heard Percy say. She nearly physically winced when he said best friend, but she held it in. Percy didn't even remember that he was a demigod, so he was probably a twelve-year old Percy at his state. She thought it was best not to break the news to the Percy that he was going out with her, because the little dork would just avoid her like the plague due to his awkwardness.

Annabeth just stared at him and slightly shook her head, to indicate that she was okay.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Well, Annabeth. I feel like the best way to proceed from here is to take Percy on a little tour, and maybe visit the Hypnos cabin later, so that we would find out why Percy has lost his memory… again."

She remembered, this was the second time he lost his memory. At this point, she was so tired. She was so tired of getting hurt, losing her friends, fighting on the god's behalves, and just being a demigod. Annabeth wondered if it would have been better to just forget everything, and start on a clean slate. No more gods and goddesses, no monsters, just ignorantly but blissfully living in the normal world…

Annabeth pushed that thought away from her head. She still had her friends, and Percy. This is the time to be there, when everyone was going through the repercussions from the giant war. It would be so selfish to want and run away now. Percy needed her. She would slowly help him remember, and fall in love with her again.

"Yeah, let's go, Percy. Can you get up?" Annabeth forced cheerfulness.

"Uh, probably not. Wait," Percy answered. He slowly shifted to let his legs off the bed, and tried to stand up. His legs were still weak, and Annabeth caught him before he fell. She put his arm around her shoulders, and supported him.

"Don't want a wheelchair?" Annabeth asked.

"No," he said. "I got this."

Percy felt thinner and weaker, but Annabeth still felt the warmth and the slight scent of the sea coming off of him. She missed touching him so much, she almost squeezed his hand.

"Woah," Percy said in awe. "I'm taller than you?"

Ah, he still thinks he's twelve, Annabeth remembered. But Annabeth barely noticed herself, she was the one taller than him until they were sixteen or so. "Yeah," Annabeth managed to laugh.

"How old am I?" he asked. For some reason, that question hit home. Percy had forgotten all their dates, the quests, their adventures, all the good and bad things that had happened to them…

"Seventeen," Annabeth replied. "Okay, let's start walking."

They slowly made their way out on the porch, and they took a short break. Annabeth looked at the peaceful view in front of them. Campers training, walking together, and so on. It seemed like things were finally normal again, but Annabeth knew better. There were so many less campers after the war, and she knew that all their friends carried the burden of their losses. Camp Half-Blood didn't look it, but it was a rather gloomy time. It clouded over the camp like a stuffy blanket, but it wasn't something they could do anything about. There was no high-strung tension waiting for the next crisis on Mount Olympus to happen, but it was just the grieving of the aftermath, of everything they lost. It had happened and it was done.

Some of the campers noticed Percy and Annabeth standing there, and soon there was a crowd of their friends all suddenly talking all at once, and just looking more happy than they did in a while. Annabeth put on a small smile and waited for everyone to calm down so she could break the news to them. Percy stood there looking rather shocked at this crowd, and Annabeth nearly forgot that he came from a background where he was the outcast. It made her a little more sad, but hopeful also. She can get to show Percy how loved he is, and his new family.

She looked at familiar faces, and saw the ghosts of the faces that were now gone. Annabeth counted the ones not here in her head. Connor, Malcolm, Butch, Drew, poor little Harley who shouldn't have ever even seen war, and more. And then there was also…

She was back to reality when she saw Jason, Leo, and Piper push through the crowd. Jason came up to Percy first and grabbed him in a crushing hug. Percy wheezed, and Jason let go, smiling like a big idiot.

"Knew you would fight through, bro." Jason clapped him on the shoulder. Percy absently nodded and smiled.

"Ha, it would take more than that to kill our number one son of Poseidon." Leo grinned. Percy widened his eyes at that. Ah, this would be a bit shocking.

Piper studied Percy for a bit and frowned. "Is he… alright?"

Annabeth bit her lower lip. "Well, physically he just seems a little stiff, but nothing too bad. But… he lost his memory. Everything of being a demigod, and greek myths."

Their friends hushed. Annabeth _felt_ the pitiful looks staring holes into her, and she just wanted to escape. Everything.

Jason, Leo, and Piper looked shocked. Piper put a reassuring hand on Annabeth's arm.

Leo turned to Percy. "So…?"

Percy looked down. "Yeah… Uh, I don't remember much. Like… you guys."

"Wow." Leo couldn't seem to make a joke out of this situation. There wasn't much to laugh about anymore. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay," Jason said firmly. "We'll make you remember. You've bested worst things, Percy. You'll remember again."

"Of course," Percy's eyes sparkled.

Annabeth smiled in gratitude.

xxx

Annabeth and Percy had lazily walked around the camp, with Annabeth explaining parts of the camp and so on. It was weird, doing this with him twice. Percy looked excited of all the cool training courses, but he looked slightly off. They sat down at an empty table in the mess hall, facing the lake. The lake reminded her of their first kiss, and Annabeth ached to kiss Percy again, tasting the sea in his lips.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"It's just… I lost five years of my life. I feel like I'm twelve, but I'm not. It's weird." Percy said emptily. Annabeth saw his shoulders sag.

"Percy…"

"Hey, but I'm going to get them back. I'll remember everything soon, you, the rest of my friends, all this junk about greek myths…" he trailed off.

"You know, I'm half-god and all, right?" Percy said.

"Well, yeah. And?" Annabeth asked.

"Do I have like… special powers of something?" Percy looked like a little kid dreaming of superpowers. He looked so cute, Annabeth had to look away to contain herself.

"Your dad is Poseidon, if you remember earlier. You have the power over the sea, you can breath underwater, talk to sea animals, horses, and whatever. I don't think you even you knew the full extent of your powers." She looked back at him, who was staring at her in awe.

She slightly blushed. "Why? Happy you're like a superhero?"

Percy laughed in delight. Annabeth's heart swelled at the noise. "I mean, it isn't anyone that wakes up one day with superpowers and a god for a dad! It's like right out of a book, not that I read much." He looked slightly embarrassed. Annabeth stared at him for a moment, and realized Percy was embarrassed of his dyslexia and ADHD. She giggled.

"Percy, I should tell you. Demigods frequently have dyslexia and/or ADHD, because we're hardwired to read Ancient Greek and have battle reflexes. Don't worry." Annabeth assured. Percy didn't say anything, but he didn't look embarrassed anymore.

"And Annabeth." he said.

"Yeah?" Annabeth replied.

"If Poseidon's my dad and all, why is my mom with a jerk like my stepfather?" he studied the floor.

Annabeth felt her heart turn to mush. Percy's old stepdad... was a jerk. Simplest way to put it. It angered her to think about how Percy was abused in the past; the smaller, more vulnerable Percy. No matter what anyone else thought, Gabe deserved what had happened to him five years ago.

"Well, if you ever read a myth before, the gods had a lot of kids. Have. They don't have time for everyone, and to put it honestly, most of us are neglected." Annabeth said.

"If it was going to be like that, why are they so selfish to go and have us? Aren't they gods? Shouldn't they have more tact? Are they blind? Can't they see all these lives they're ruining?!" He clenched his fists on his knees and squeezed his eyes shut, like he was trying not to cry a little. Percy was getting frustrated like his old twelve-year old self, but it scared Annabeth a little to see Percy be that way in his older body. He had grown more mature over the years, and tamed himself a little. With help from Annabeth, of course. That fool couldn't get anything done without her.

"Watch yourself, those very gods can hear you," Annabeth said. A roll of thunder sounded in the distance, as if to prove her point. Percy nervously glanced in the direction, but said nothing further.

"But you know, Percy, if I had to say anything, you're probably Poseidon's favorite child. I mean, at first, you didn't get along, but in the end, I felt even a little jealous of the relationship you had with your father." Annabeth admitted.

"Then who's your dad?" Percy asked. Annabeth winced, and recalled the exact same conversation she had with him five years ago.

"My dad is a professor at West Point. He teaches American history." Annabeth practically recited from heart.

"He's human," he said.

"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?" Annabeth had to fight her will to not smile. Gods, she was feeling nostalgic now.

"Who's your mom, then?"

"Athena, Goddess of wisdom and battle." she grinned now, not holding back.

He stared at her a for a little, and Annabeth felt her face color a bit.

"What's your dad like?" Percy asked.

"Well, at first, it was pretty bad between us. I ended up running away when I was seven, and came here." Annabeth said.

"When you were seven?" Percy sounded surprised.

"Don't worry, I had help. But… after a while, you convinced me to give him another chance." Annabeth looked down. "And then, things got better than before. You know, I don't think I ever told you this, but thanks for that. I couldn't have done it without you." she heard herself get a little carried away. She already decided she won't let him know about their relationship yet…

"Well, it's your family. I would do anything if it helped you with that." Percy said firmly. She looked up at him, and saw a faint blush on his face. Annabeth smirked, and leaned in.

She closed her eyes, feeling so _right._ This is what was taken away from her again for a month, even if it felt like forever. She pictured the sea in her head, smelling it in his hair.

Suddenly, Annabeth realized what she had done after feeling his face under her lips. For some reason, she was more flustered than she had been when kissing Percy in months. She pulled away abruptly, clearing her throat.

"Okay, uh…" She didn't know what to say. This wasn't the right moment to break it to him. "We have to go see what's up with your memories. Come on, follow me to the Hypnos cabin." She got up, and avoided Percy's gaze.

She had only kissed his cheek. Brushed it, really. But why did it feel like so much more? Annabeth missed it so much, feeling his soft skin with her lips.

Feeling desperate and lonely, she walked away briskly, not looking back to see if he was following.

Ugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy followed Annabeth from a safe distance.

He tried to ignore the burning sensation in his cheek, but the instant she leaned over and pecked him on the cheek played in his head over and over again. Percy knew they were best friends, but this close? He felt ashamed to be feeling this way toward his friend, especially after he went and forgot her. He stared at the heel of her sneakers, and let himself get hypnotized by the sound of the sole of her shoe dragging against the gravel.

It got slowly bigger and bigger, until it hit him. Literally.

Percy awkwardly shuffled back, and avoided her eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"S'fine," she replied nonchalantly. See? Annabeth meant nothing behind that gesture, Percy was being immature. She was seventeen, and older, and more mature than him. It was probably because he was being a little cute kid or something. Percy was... Percy.

"We're here," Annabeth announced. They arrived at a house with mud walls and a rush roof. There was a wreath of red flowers on the door. It reminded him of an old prairie house.

"Where is this?" Percy dumbly asked, and he remembered.

"Hypnos cabin, the god of sleep." Annabeth answered, not hinting whether she thought Percy was stupid for asking again.

"Why…?" Percy trailed.

"There might be the reason why you lost your memory again, or if we're lucky enough, you can retrieve it." Annabeth didn't sound so hopeful. And wait… again?

"I lost my memory before?" Percy realized.

Annabeth faltered, but didn't say anything. She opened the door, a little harshly, and stepped inside.

One word to describe the house would be cozy. A warm fire crackled in a hearth, a strange tree dripped a white liquid somehow tempting Percy to reach out and touch it. He slowly stretched his fingers out, but Annabeth saw him. She smacked his hand away, and warned, "Don't touch anything in here."

He felt a little embarrassed, like a child that just received a scolding. Percy was distracted, however, and feeling very drowsy. Soft violin music played in the distance, and he felt his eyelids go heavy.

He jerked when two fingers snapped under his nose.

"It's fine. This cabin does that to everyone." Annabeth explained.

"Marcus? Marcus, you here? Wake up!" Annabeth called.

Percy waited patiently.

Slowly, he heard a loud yawn coming from bed a little distance from him. It went still again, until Annabeth walked over shoved the bump under the covers.

A scrawny boy of about fifteen shot up. "YEs!" he said with his eyes closed.

"Marcus, I need your help. Memory problems." Annabeth briefed.

"For who…?" Marcus cracked open an eye. He saw Percy, and both of his eyes fully widened.

"Oh! Woke up, sleeping beauty?"

"Percy, this is Marcus, head of Hypnos cabin." Annabeth introduced. Percy nodded in greeting.

"Hey, heard a lot about you. Cool to see you're mostly okay." Marcus smiled. Marcus talked in a way that made everyone around them sleepy, calm and very slowly. Percy weakly smiled back.

"Memory problems? I don't know much about how to deal with that… If Clovis was still here…" Marcus' face sagged. He cleared his throat. "Well, I'll do my best. Close your eyes."

Percy was unsure, but he saw Annabeth nod. Reassured, he closed his eyes. Percy tuned into the soft violin music, and lost consciousness.

xxx

_Percy was standing in the middle of somewhere, he wasn't really sure. The buildings all around him were crumbling, and fire was spreading. Dust and debris were everywhere, clouding his view. All around him were his friends, fighting and falling. Or dead. Screams and battle cries shattered in his ears, and Percy stood there holding his sword. He didn't see horrible monsters, but something even worse. His friends were all killing each other, and dying. Percy felt like giving in and surrendering, but he knew he had to keep fighting for his family. Both families. He tried to take a step to go help them, but he winced and fell down. He saw that his leg was bleeding severely, and he couldn't seem to walk on it anymore. A boy a little distance away noticed him on the floor, and yelled at him, "Percy! What do you think you're doing right now, are you crazy? Get up!" But Percy felt his strength leaving him, it was like the earth was calling him to lay down and rest with the soil, just letting go. Percy swayed, and went on his knees._

_The boy screamed at him more frantically, "Percy! Stop! Get up, you have to move!"_

_The boy looked rather small. Why was someone as young as him fighting in this terrible war?_

_Percy dropped onto the cool dirt and sighed. Everything was doomed anyways. Too many had died already, he would just be added to the body count. All because of him…_

"_Percy!" he heard the boy call out one more time, and everything went dark._

Percy woke up, and shivered slightly. What kind of dream was that? Did he remember something? It left him feeling rather drained. But as he tried to think about it more, the dream faded away. He felt frustrated again, it seemed he was losing something important.

He turned his head over, and saw Annabeth speaking to Marcus in low tones. "... before the accident? I mean, Percy was… probably traumatized. With the war and all, and especially after Bob, and Damaeus, and-" Annabeth noticed him, and stopped. He had a weird feeling like he knew what Annabeth was talking about, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Percy was suddenly curious.

"So?" Annabeth prodded. It was clear she steered clear off of the topic.

Marcus stared at Percy intently. He suddenly made a face and huffed in frustration. "Ugh, I can't pinpoint it. I was never very good at memories and all. But… something's really weird."

"What do you mean? Were they stolen?" Annabeth guessed. Percy thought he heard a slight growl in her voice.

"Hmm, I don't know. But he's been to Lethe." Annabeth's face paled.

"Lethe?" Percy murmured. He tried to recall stories, and he did have a vague idea of what it might be. It wasn't a very good idea. He suddenly felt a pit form in his stomach. If it was really what he was thinking about, it was really not good.

Annabeth bit her lower lip. "Okay, how is that weird? And… Percy never went to the underworld afterward… Or maybe if..." her voice trembled.

"The strange thing is that… His memories don't seem to have dissolved." Marcus continued.

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "Go on."

"Well, once your memories are wiped by the River of Lethe, there's no hope of ever recovering your memories, you're stuck at square one. Forever. But Percy's here, functioning normally, and he has memories of himself when he was twelve and before that. He has common sense, which he shouldn't have. I don't know what's going on. There's a better chance I messed up, but…" Marcus trailed off into deep thought. Percy expected him to share more, but he started snoring.

Annabeth clasped her hands together, and sighed. "Thank you, Marcus." She got up, and motioned Percy to follow her.

They walked down the hill a little and Annabeth settled down on a patch of lush green grass.

She sighed rather loudly, and put her head between her knees.

"Well, from how you are, I'm guessing things aren't looking good." Percy sat down next to her, careful not to brush her fingers.

"Pretty much," Annabeth shortly replied.

"The River of Lethe… Isn't that where your memories are wiped?" Percy said.

"Yeah. Memories can't come back if they're lost there. You're wiped clean," Annabeth said.

"And so I can't ever get them back?" Percy asked.

"I don't know. If you really went there, then you should have had the intelligence level of an infant. Well, you always did." Annabeth joked without much humor.

"Ha, ha. Then what does that mean?"

"Like I said, I don't know. It's a vague road here on out."

"That doesn't look too good," Percy said glumly.

"Things never do," Annabeth darkly chuckled.

Percy didn't know how to respond. "You know that's not true."

Annabeth glanced at him sideways. "I don't know, things were even worse for you. Would you have disagreed with me then?"

"Well, I don't remember, so I'm going to be optimistic about it now." Percy countered. It bothered Percy that Annabeth would mention how his life was even worse. I mean, he was the son of the god of the freaking sea! Apparently, he found a home here at this camp. How would things be so bad? "You know, what happened to me?" Percy finally asked.

"I don't know."

"Again?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

Annabeth hesitated, then looked at him in the eye. Her pretty eyes intimidated Percy, and he wanted to look away. But he didn't.

"Well, you don't remember, but a lot of things happened." Annabeth started.

"I get that part. I mean, the last thing I remember is fighting the freaking minotaur and my mom dissolving." Percy said.

Annabeth smiled softly. "I almost forgot that ever happened. That was so long ago, Percy."

"Yeah, I got that too somewhere along the way."

"Anyways, I was saying. Before you lost your memory, we just went through the Giant War at the Athens. It was… rather taxing." she said dryly. "A lot of pressure was put on you, me, and five of our other friends to pretty much save the world. You don't remember, but another thing was that a Roman camp, with Roman gods, had a misunderstanding with our camp and we had a battle here too. Well, Reyna and Nico arrived to stop the battle, but not before there were casualties." Annabeth was explaining it in a rather straightforward fashion, but there was a heavy tone in her voice. And Percy felt something catch in his throat, like he was about to cry. He wasn't sure why.

"We… dealt with the giants and Gaea, but the situation at Camp Half-Blood and Jupiter wasn't looking so bright. And you… you seemed a little different. Somehow, you were able to call your hellhound, and shadow traveled away to camp. It was all so quick, I didn't understand what was wrong with you. I don't really know what happened there, although I heard stories here and there." He had a hellhound? And why did he do that?

Annabeth paused. "Well, that's not the important part. After all of that, after all the bodies were counted, we all had some problems we had to deal with. But you… you seemed pretty… _affected_ by what had happened. I get it, you had to deal with two prophecies in two short years. That would kinda mess up anybody. But at one point, you disappeared. I was frantic." Annabeth's eyes were dull, like storm clouds on a gloomy day. "We all looked for you, and we ended up finding you unconscious in our woods. And… you know what happened after that.

"Ah…" Percy still had so many questions. Where did he go? Why? What was he thinking? "Um, well, you said I was in two prophecies? Can you kinda elaborate?"

"Ah, you don't know all the ins and outs of greek myths anymore. Ugh, I'm like losing my memory." Annabeth winced. "Whoops, sorry. Ignore that."

"Okay, whatever. And?"

"Well, from the start, life was out to get you. The moment you stepped on camp, the Fates were already messing with your destiny." She said that as if fate was a person. Or people.

"You came in with a bang. You were a son of the Big Three, a suspect of the lightning thief, and on Zeus' kill list. And then you were the subject of the Great Prophecy, another prophecy going on about how you would make the ultimate choice in saving the world." Annabeth sounded almost nostalgic.

"After that prophecy, you and I… rested. Uh, well you disappeared about three months after all the mess from the first prophecy, and we had all this new junk about the second Great Prophecy, and yeah. Things kinda sucked." Annabeth sighed, and lay down. Her curly hair sprawled out around her, and Percy stared just a little too long.

"You know, you explain things too briefly. I lost my memory here, keeping things short like that won't help me." Percy said.

"What do you want me to do? I would get your memories back if I can, Percy," she sounded tired.

"Then do it. Get my memories back. Tell me them, all of them. One by one." Percy lay down next to her, facing the perfect blue sky of Camp Half-Blood.

He watched the clouds roll by slowly, one after another.

He heard Annabeth draw a breath, and exhale.

"I first met you when you were twelve."

/

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you liked that chapter… School is just so busy, sorry I'm not very quick at updating. But I do like this story, so I am determined to continue. The ending was a little weak, I know, I just felt that I should end the chapter there. Anyways, thanks for reviewing and such! See you guys soon:)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Blood of Olympus;((( I will never forget the PJO or the HoO series, they have seriously changed my life. I'm so sad the adventure is over and that we had to say goodbye to the Seven, but I will always remember, and reread the series again and again. As I write this, I realize more how hard it is to write a multi-chapter story.. Stay with me, though! Anyways, new chapter guys! Thanks for reading:)

/

"You were out cold, and I had to nurse your stupid butt back to health." Annabeth said. She was telling Percy everything, right from the beginning. Starting since when Percy was that little twelve year old drooling in the infirmary. She wanted to take her time, though. Not forgetting the small things. The way he made such stupid mistakes but miraculously made it through, how he acted so humble about the great feats he performed, his _hamartia_ which was something as precious as personal loyalty, the list went on and on.

"You were out for days, and you drooled in your sleep. I would have to scrape your disgusting drool off of your chin, and feed you nectar, the drink of the gods. If you weren't part god, you would have incinerated. But of course that didn't stop your kelp face from insisting that you were mortal." Annabeth continued. She peeked over at Percy, but his face was fixated at the sky.

"When you first woke up, you and Grover came to me, Chiron, and Mr D. You would still call Chiron Mr Brunner, like you did earlier." she smiled. "You and I were introduced, and I told you about your drooling problem. Didn't help whatsoever. Chiron cleared his identity up for you, and you asked the usual questions. 'God? Oh, greek gods? But they're myths.' You were in denial at first, then Mr D put you in your place, then you _provoked_ him, gods, you were stupid. You still are, really. Mr D threatened to turn you into a dolphin, or spontaneously combust you." She snickered, and Annabeth realized she was rambling. She turned to face Percy, and saw that he fell asleep.

She was about to smack him, but seeing his face so peaceful stopped Annabeth's malicious feelings. After the war, and the whole time he was under a coma, Percy always seemed to wear an expression so dull and lifeless. Thinking about Percy like that made Annabeth feel detached to the world, like nothing mattered than seeing Percy happy. Now, he finally seemed calm and relaxed, like everything bad that had just gone away. That made her wonder if Percy was happier this way. Starting afresh, and leaving all the pain and horrible memories behind him. He went through so much to clean up the mess after the gods, Percy never had time to stop and think about his future. That was until he went to Camp Jupiter, and saw the community of demigods they had there. Annabeth thought he found hope there, but she wasn't so sure. Percy was so damaged after the war and battles he faced, she wasn't sure if Percy would recover.

She closed her eyes and dispelled those thoughts. Annabeth herself had been through some crappy stuff, but she got through it all with help from Percy and her friends. Last time, Percy remembered one thing: her name. She refused Percy to forget everything; her, his friends, both camps, and all his obstacles and experiences. It might be selfish to force Percy to remember cruel aspects of his demigod life, but it was not acceptable for him to forget the good parts in it, too. That wasn't fair to the people that loved him and the people he loved, or the people that sacrificed themselves for him to be here today.

Percy had one hand resting on his chest, and another laying out at his side. The idiot was drooling again, too. She smirked, and reached out wiped his face with her finger. Annabeth wiped her finger on the grass. Her hand lingered near his cheek, her fingers brushing it. They slept together once, and _yes_ they _literally_ slept together and nothing else. Gods, she still blushed when she thought about the other aspect of sleeping together with Percy. Anyways, last time they were in each other's arms, comforting each other and trying to forget their problems. Now, things were a little complicated. But, as friends, Annabeth can do this.

She gently held his hand, and closed her eyes.

xxx

_Percy was back on the last battlefield, now holding the boy he saw before in his arms. _

"_No! Don't do this to me, don't let this happen because of me! I was never able to make it up to you, why?" Percy sobbed. Blood was all over the small boy, and all over Percy, too. This was because of him. A battle raged on around him, but he was not a part of it. He was fighting a battle here, and he was losing._

"_This isn't because of you, you know it. It's all Gaea… Stop this, please. Stop the fighting… I wished that I can make peace in something before I die… Well, I'm pretty sure I achieved Elysium, heh." the boy seemed to have fully accepted his death. The boy and Percy spoke more, but it was all warped and inaudible for some reason._

_Another friend disappeared before his eyes, and Percy couldn't stop it. Again. It was all because of him, everything was because of him… He felt desperation swallow him, and out of contrition, he stood up one last time. He had to stop this._

Percy's dream ended, but Percy was still closing his eyes, in a state of half-sleep. There was another disturbing dream, leaving Percy at yet another cliffhanger. Who was that boy? He felt familiar, but he couldn't recognize him. Was he connected to him losing his memories? Were these dreams he was having mean anything?

He heard a voice stir him completely from sleep. Percy shook his sleep away and rose up from the grass. Yawning, he saw Annabeth and Grover standing above him. The sun seemed to have set just a little while ago, faint pink and red coloring the sky. Annabeth looked flustered for some reason, and Grover looked as if he was trying not to laugh.

"Is something wrong?" Percy touched his face, wondering if something was there.

"Nothing, Percy." Annabeth quickly replied.

Grover snickered. "Yeah, come on, we gotta go eat dinner now."

Percy found out he ate alone at his own table. Cool, but not really. The tables were sorted out by who your parent was, and it turned out Percy was the only Poseidon kid. Percy nibbled on his cheeseburger, and drank his blue cherry Coke. One _really_ cool thing about the camp was that their goblets were magic, and would fill up with any non-alcoholic drink you wished for. Now that's more like it.

Percy saw faces he saw earlier, like Piper and Jason and Leo. He then glanced over to Grover and Annabeth who were sitting in other tables with their cabin mates or other satyrs. He wished he could join one of them, because they were pretty much the only people he knew. Or remembered. But he didn't remember Annabeth. Ugh, nevermind.

Apparently, Grover got a girlfriend in between the time he was twelve and now. Percy wondered if he would ever get a girlfriend. Or ever had one. Was there a girl he liked before he lost his memory? What would she be like?

Percy saw Annabeth laughing at something a guy next to her said. He suddenly felt strange, and a little empty. He didn't see her be so happy until now. He made eye contact with her, and he stared at his cheeseburger. Great, now he was caught staring at her. He continued eating quietly, a little more quickly.

Suddenly, a loud cry startled him. "BIG BROTHER!" Percy looked up to see what the commotion was, and he saw a beefy guy about six feet tall crying and running towards his table. Wait, was that one eye?

"Percy! Brother! You are not dead!" he sobbed, and he crushed Percy in a bear hug. Percy tried to keep his food in his stomach.

Percy gasped, and Annabeth came over to help. "Tyson, I think that's enough," she said softly.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. Was just excited to see big brother again. I must go again, though. " the guy named Tyson said.

"You have to go? Why?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes." Tyson answered. Annabeth seemed to have taken this as a satisfactory answer.

Percy caught his breath, and stood up. "Okay. But… what do you mean, big brother?"

"Ah, well. Tyson here is your half-brother. He's a cyclops. A rather young one. Take care of him." Annabeth said. There was a slight edge to her voice, like if he ever hurt him, she would feed him to a pack of wolves.

"What? Percy, it is me! Tyson!" Tyson slapped a hand to his chest.

"Oh, yeah. Hey buddy." Percy weakly greeted.

"Tyson, I'm sorry. Percy lost his memory. He doesn't remember much, but it will come back to him soon enough." Annabeth calmly explained. Tyson's lip wobbled, and heavy tears streamed down his cheeks.

Then he hugged him again. "Percy! Stay strong, don't give up!" Tyson couldn't continue due to him crying. Percy winced, but he had to admit this guy's hugs were something Percy appreciated. He laughed, and squeezed Tyson back. A cyclops? Okay, Percy will deal.

xxx

_How do you feel? Do you feel better now that you're running away? _A voice echoed. It was stern, like a mother would scold. But it was absent of the warmth a mother would have.

Percy squirmed, tossing in his bed. He was having another nightmare, and he couldn't wake up.

He saw different faces, all bloody and gaunt. Percy tried to run away from them, but they followed him everywhere in the void of darkness he was trapped in. They haunted him, their eyes pitch black. There was a blond boy with a scar running down his face, and a boy with an eyepatch. There was another boy with a bow and arrow. A taller humanoid figure with Einstein-like hair, and a huge giant. There was one last boy, the boy that was in his arms. He was wearing an aviator jacket, and had dark bags under his eyes. Percy was scared of him the most. They all stared at him, more blood slowly streaming from their faces. Percy felt bile in his throat, and he fell to his knees.

_Do you regret your choices, Percy? That avoiding what happened would help you? _Percy was crying now, he couldn't exactly pinpoint why. What exactly did he forget? The faces appeared before his face, staring at him. He could smell blood, and he gagged.

_You disappointed them. You deemed yourself too weak, and decided to flee. You are a coward, Percy Jackson. _the female voice rang in his head.

The voice formed a top half of a body. She was beautiful, but there was no gentleness. Peacock feathers made a fan behind her. Her cold eyes regarded Percy. _It's not exactly too late. Repent before what you have done._

Percy cradled his head in his knees, and prayed to wake up.

_Percy. _The voice alone made the earth tremble.

_Percy. Percy! _Everything was shaking now, and Percy succumbed to the darkness.

"Percy! Get up! Percy!" a shrill voice shrieked. Percy jolted, feeling cold sweat. He groaned loudly. Okay. It was over. Get over it, it was just a bad dream. He peeked, and sunlight temporarily blinded him.

"Uh. Yeah. What?" Percy rubbed sleep out of his eyes. Then he saw Annabeth kneeling besides him with wide eyes. Was she almost crying?

"Annabeth?" Percy suddenly felt self conscious. He was shirtless, too. He scrambled with the sheets until he covered his modesty.

Annabeth sniffed, and rolled her eyes. "Oh, my gods, Percy. You don't have boobs to cover, you're fine." Percy's face flushed.

"Whatever," he muttered. "Anyways, isn't there supposed to be some rule to not barge in other people's cabins?"

"Well, a boy and girl aren't allowed to be alone together in a cabin."

"Then why are you here?"

"You… you weren't waking up, so I was… worried." Annabeth confessed.

Percy tilted his head. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"After so many incidents of you of just disappearing or _something_ happening to you, I got a little nervous. Sorry." Annabeth quickly said. Percy felt guilty again. She wasn't exactly blaming him, but he felt it anyway.

"I… I was just having a bad dream. No big deal." Percy admitted.

"A nightmare? What was it?" Annabeth suddenly looked concerned.

He felt embarrassed, feeling very young again. "It's just a dream. Don't get worked up over it. I'm fine."

"Percy, tell me."

"It's over now, so-"

"Percy. Demigod dreams are never 'nothing.' This could be important, now spill."

Percy sighed. He told her about the dream, and she pondered silently for a few minutes. She looked clouded with grief, until she seemed to have thought of something.

"The head… did she have a peacock?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, there were peacock feathers, if that's close enough."

Annabeth's expression turned dark. "So it was her." she growled. She stood up. Annabeth turned to walk away, but Percy grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, what's happening?" Percy asked.

"Hera. Hera took your memories. _Again._ I'm going to kill her." Annabeth was seething. Percy was scared out of his wits to see her this way. And he figured killing a goddess wasn't possible?

"Hey. It was a dream. It was my subconscious mind making stuff up, Annabeth." Percy cautiously said.

"Percy, when you're a demigod, dreams aren't just _dreams_. They're glimpses of the past, visions of the present, or a way of communication. Your dream… Hera was talking to you."

Annabeth explained. She said Hera as if it was gum she just stepped on.

"Do you and Hera… Have some kind of rocky relationship?" It surprised Percy that Annabeth seemed to personally know the queen of Olympus.

"The first time you lost your memories, it was because of her. And she took you away from… Camp Half-Blood for eight months. And now, again. But why? And Marcus said you went to Lethe. Ugh!" she yelled in frustration.

"Calm down," Percy tried. He gripped her wrist harder. "I don't think it would be safe for you to go out there like this.

"Percy, you don't understand!" Annabeth said.

"That's why I can keep calm to help you keep calm. Relax. Think things through." Percy replied.

She huffed. "Well, I can't be in here anyways. I'll go tell Chiron, come out later when you're ready."

Annabeth walked out of his cabin, taking out the feeling of life with her. Percy felt alone in his cabin, and he felt bloody faces would pop out of nowhere, especially since Annabeth told her that demigod dreams were to be taken seriously.

He quickly got dressed and left his cabin. Outside, the sun was already high, so Percy was probably sleeping for a while. He wondered if there was a schedule he was supposed to abide to, but they were probably going easy on him since he just woke up from a coma.

Percy walked around, passing by campers greeting him, and feeling guilty each time he couldn't remember someone. He tried to remember their names as he met them.

He went to the Big House, and saw that Annabeth was speaking with Chiron and a girl with curly red hair. They sat in foldable chairs(Chiron stood) around a ping pong table with snacks on top of it. Despite the laid back setting, they all looked grave. There were two cushioned chair placed near a fireplace, with a head of a leopard over it. A handsome blond teenager sat in one of them, looking rather gloomy. The red-haired girl had paint splattered jeans, a t-shirt about some charity, and wore a serious expression as she spoke with Annabeth and Chiron. She was pretty, Percy realized.

Annabeth noticed him, and waved him over.

"You're here, good." Annabeth saw him staring at Rachel. "Ah, this is Rachel. You guys were close friends. She's our oracle, even if there have been some problems recently. She's mortal, too." Annabeth seemed to be close to Rachel as well.

Rachel hugged Percy tight, embarrassing him. "Percy. I'm so glad you're better now. Get your memory back, okay? There's nothing else to fill your brain with." she joked, and let go.

Percy nodded, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt.

Chiron pat Percy on the back. "Sleep well, my boy?" Percy murmured a somewhat positive reply.

"As I was saying, Chiron. Hera is the cause of his memory loss, _again._ We have to go find her, and strangle her or something until she gives his memory back. I knew it, there was no good in letting her out of that prison," Annabeth spat.

Chiron sighed. "I'm very glad you seemed to have found the source of Percy's amnesia, but I doubt intruding so rudely would do any of us any good."

"At this point, I don't care. Just give us permission, We'll take care of it." Annabeth said.

"Alright, but do you know where you would find her?" Rachel asked. Percy stood by quietly, listening to the conversation.

"Hm. Zeus wasn't too happy with her last time, so I don't think she would have gone back to Olympus just yet. Apollo, do you know anything?" Annabeth turned to the glum blond teenager sitting near the fireplace. Wait, what?

"I don't know. Power of prophecy isn't working or anything." the teenager said. That was Apollo?

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Stop sulking, it's pathetic."

Apollo glared at her. "I am _not_ pathetic. And I am _not_ sulking, I am dealing with my problems. One last thing, be nicer if you want me to give you any info."

"Mr A, we ask for your cooperation. You don't exactly have to use the Oracle to find Hera's location." Chiron said.

Percy was still busy trying to wrap his mind around the fact they were all talking to a teenager like he was Apollo. "That's… Apollo?"

Now Apollo glared at him. "Yes, you dimwit. Now don't tell me you don't _remember_ me." he groaned loudly. "Not only am I stuck here, Perseus Jackson doesn't remember me! What have I done so wrong, Father!"

Chiron cleared his throat. "That is why we need your help, Mr A. Percy here is suffering amnesia, so we need your help to find Hera in hopes to cure it. Ah, and Percy, Mr A here is our new camp director, after Zeus decided that his punishment would be to serve at Camp Half-Blood for a thousand years."

"Whyyy?" Apollo cried. "Dionysus chased a nymph and only got hundred years! I helped save the universe, and I got tenfold!"

"Apollo, please." Annabeth urged.

"Fine. From what I heard in the rumors recently, Hera has been laying pretty low to not anger Zeus. Last I heard of her was that she visited Camp Jupiter as Juno. Maybe it was to get worshipped or something, I don't know. I would need a self esteem boost if I was her. Probably not there anymore, but it's a good lead." Apollo said.

Annabeth contemplated that for a moment. "Okay, then. Chiron, can we go now? We got a destination and a goal."

Chiron seemed to have given up. "It's not like you would listen if I said otherwise."

Annabeth smiled. "Thanks, Chiron." she hugged Rachel.

"Stay safe." Rachel greeted. Rachel gave Percy a hug too, and he managed to squeeze back. She smelled nice. He almost sniffed her, but he knew that would be just plain creepy. "Want transportation?"

"Nah, we'll use Mrs O 'Leary or Blackjack." Annabeth said.

Annabeth then led Percy out. "Okay, can you explain to me what just happened?" Percy asked, overwhelmed.

"We're going on a quest, you and me, to retrieve your memories and beat Hera up for taking them. Simple enough for you, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth seemed determined. It was a better mood to see her in.

"So we're going… now?" Percy asked.

"Now." Annabeth confirmed. "Come on, no time to waste!" she smiled and grabbed his wrist as she dragged him down the hills of Camp Half-Blood.

Little did Percy know, but Annabeth was just trying her hardest to fight the jealousy she felt as they went to start their quest.


End file.
